Question of Taste: Debbie Chapman, artist 

Wexford-born artist Debbie Chapman currently has an exhibition at the Montenotte Hotel in Cork, as part of the hotel's artist-in-residence programme.

Debbie Chapman at the Montenotte Hotel in Cork with manager Brian Bowler. Picture: Gerard McCarthy

Best recent book you've read:

Girl, Woman, Other – Bernadine Evaristo. A wonderful look into the lives of a group of black women living in Britain. Obviously quite topical, I’d read it just before the recent BLM protests and was thankful for the richer perspective it gave me.

Best recent film:

1917 – An unbelievable technical achievement and visually stunning. A reminder to never let the waste of life on that scale happen again. I was also in awe of George MacKay’s performance!

Best recent exhibition you’ve seen (presumably in pre-Covid era):

A permanent exhibition but I’ve made an almost daily habit in the last few weeks of visiting the National Gallery in Dublin. It’s often been very quiet, so I sometimes feel like I have the entire place, and all of it’s incredible works to myself. Very special.

Current music listening:

My husband would kill me if I didn’t say Blackbird by One Day International. I never get sick of it.

 First ever piece of or art really moved you:

I found a drawing that my mother did when she herself was only a young girl in the 1950s. It was a pencil sketch of a group of women in ball gowns, done in the style of fashion illustrations at the time. I was struck by how delicate her mark making was.

The best exhibition you've ever seen (if you had to pick one!):

A collection of Goya paintings in Barcelona. It’s also the exhibition that terrified me the most. It was completely visceral and while it almost made me ill, I’m really thankful for having experienced it.

Tell us about your TV viewing:

Usually reserved for the winter months and lots of the usual suspects – Peaky Blinders, Better Call Saul etc. I do love Grand Designs as well. We can dream!

Radio listening and/or podcasts:

Lyric FM, and I love The Artist Next Level podcast. I find that I really have to like the voice of the podcaster as much as what it’s about or I just can't listen to it… I also really enjoyed Dolly’s America. What a woman she is!

You're curating your dream exhibition – which three artists are on the bill, living or dead?

Egon Schiele, Jenny Saville, Banksy. 

Your best celebrity encounter:

Clare Grogan (Altered Images) was a friend of mine years ago when I lived in London. I helped her “perfect” her dodgy Irish accent for the episode of Father Ted! Sorry Clare…

You can portal back to any cultural event or artistic era – where, when, and why?

Who wouldn’t have wanted to be part of Andy Warhol’s New York scene in the ‘60s? Everything was possible and they broke a lot of rules.

You are queen of the Irish art world for a day – what's your first decree?

Everybody gets paid a living wage.